WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dennis Kucinich likes to describe himself as a "rooster in the Fox lair" when he takes to Twitter to promote his upcoming appearances on the conservative Fox News network.

Far from being a replacement for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a Tea Party favorite who left Fox News around the time it hired Kucinich as a paid commentator, the Democratic ex-congressman is serving as a left-wing foil for the network's reliably right-wing hosts.

It's in the eye of the beholder whether Kucinich's new friends on Fox are cooking his rhetorical rooster or whether he's outfoxing them the way Foghorn Leghorn thwarted Looney Tunes predators. Regardless, the kerfuffles between them make entertaining television.

Brookings Institution politics and media expert Stephen Hess views Kucinich's Jan. 16 hiring as part of Fox's effort to retrench after it was embarrassed last year by its commentators who predicted a landslide Mitt Romney presidential victory. The network just renewed Karl Rove's contract but let Dick Morris go. Hess, a former presidential speechwriter for Dwight Eisenhower, says the network needed to add another liberal voice like Kucinich's.

The fact that Kucinich is "not the most doctrinaire liberal" who is willing to "take a shot or two at his own party" makes him more appealing to the network, says Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple. According to Wemple, Kucinich brings a recognizable political name, a wealth of experience and a civil demeanor to his new job.

"I don't know how many people were expecting Dennis Kucinich to become a Fox News contributor -- I was not -- but it's a fun move," says Wemple.

Since Fox Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes announced Kucinich's hiring, saying his "willingness to take a stand from his point of view makes him a valuable voice in our country's debate," the two-time presidential candidate has shown up on many of its shows to serve as the network's liberal whipping boy for President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats.

When Fox's Bill O'Reilly called Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken a "complete weasel" during Kucinich's Jan. 17 debut as a Fox News contributor, the former Cleveland mayor shot back to defend Franken's stance on gun rights. As often happens on O'Reilly's show, the exchange devolved into a shouting match.

"You're crazy," O'Reilly bellowed at Kucinich, after denouncing Franken for not saying whether he'd back an assault weapons ban. "He recognizes that he needs votes in the state and that wouldn't be popular."

Kucinich hollered that O'Reilly should read a detailed article on Franken's views that appeared in a Minnesota newspaper.

"We have to recognize a larger question in our society," Kucinich said. "There is a lot of fear in our society. People are mistrustful of government."

After watching their exchange, Kent State University broadcast journalism professor Gary Hanson observed that O'Reilly had a stronger voice and appeared larger on camera than Kucinich, a contrast that "undoubtedly plays into the reasons Fox viewers tune in and reinforces the idea that conservatives are strong and liberals are less so."

"One inherent disadvantage that liberals have in this format is that black vs. white, good vs. evil points of view play out better in this TV format," Hanson said in an email. "Liberal positions that are often more nuanced and need more explanation are tougher to do here. O'Reilly's position is summed up in a sound bite: 'Franken is a weasel.' Kucinich's job to defend Franken's positions is harder to do."

Hanson says Kucinich needs to "adopt the role of a gladiator riding into the battle with a sharp sword, not a dull one. He needs to work on making that sword sharper. He's not there yet, but he's on the right track. It makes for good TV. Whether it makes for good public policy is another story."

The following week, Kucinich served as the Democratic Party's human sacrifice on Fox News' "Cashin' In, " where its host, Eric Bolling, and a belligerent stable of panelists including Wayne Rogers, who starred in the 1970s hit television show "M*A*S*H," flagellated him over potential tax increases.

"We have both a tax and a spending problem," Kucinich told the group. "There's no question our government wastes a lot of money. People have every right to be upset every time they hear about a tax increase. We need to look at our monetary policy, because frankly, that's driving our tax system as well. People right now should know that our government spent hundreds of billions of dollars wasted on war."

"Why give them more?" Bolling said.

"The point is that there are ordinary needs that have to be met to keep the government going," Kucinich answered. "On a state level, there are services that have to be provided. State and local taxes provide services that are necessary for keeping a civil society going. But the issue of waste is a huge issue, and it needs to be regarded."

"So, the congressman says, 'They waste a lot of money up there in D.C. Let's give them more because they kind of need it,' " Bolling said as he sought another panelist's opinion.

Kucinich has also been called upon to discuss Obama's Cabinet picks with skeptical Fox News hosts. On Feb. 1, Fox's Laura Ingraham asked Kucinich, the sponsor of legislation to create a Cabinet-level Department of Peace, to defend Obama's war department pick: former Nebraska GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel,

"Look, he's a combat veteran," Kucinich said. "He'll be the first enlisted man who became Secretary of Defense. He has two Purple Hearts. He saved a man's life, took shrapnel to the chest. I mean, he could be an action hero. Instead, he's going to be Secretary of Defense."

When Ingraham criticized Hagel's recent appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kucinich retorted: "You know, this isn't 'Dancing with the Stars.' He wants to be Secretary of Defense. The troops will love him based on the fact that he actually served and understands their problems."

Former Akron Beacon Journal editor Janet Leach, who now heads Kent State's Media Law Center for Ethics and Access, says Kucinich's input on Fox shows he's well-informed, with a deep understanding of the issues and how Washington works. She said she particularly appreciates that he "expresses his viewpoint without turning up the volume, as so many TV commentators do these days."

"His analyses are framed by his long-held liberal views, whether you agree with him or not," Leach said in an email. "So, this opportunity with Fox seems to give Kucinich the national stage he sought with his presidential campaigns."

Kucinich did not respond to repeated interview requests for this article. In an interview last month, he told The Plain Dealer that he relished "the opportunity to go into the lion's den" on the Fox network.

"I don't yield to anybody on standing up for what I believe in," he continued. "If all you do is talk to people who agree with you, how are you going to change anybody's mind?"

Since leaving Congress Jan. 3, Kucinich has promoted a liberal political action committee that he started called Kucinich Action, which engaged in an unsuccessful lobbying effort to get Obama to appoint Arizona Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva as the next Secretary of the Interior.

This month, he accepted an award for lifetime service from the Ohio AFL-CIO. He told the liberal Rob Kall Bottom Up Radio Show on WNJC in New Jersey that he is also working on a writing project and going on a speaking tour that includes Santa Barbara and Oakland, Calif., and at "a major labor rally in Wisconsin."

"I'm continuing to stay active, and to advance those things that I've been talking about for my entire life, and in particular, the last 16 years in the United States Congress," Kucinich said.

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